The Kiss
by SpartaBlaze
Summary: When Cat Noir finally gets the nerve to kiss Ladybug, they end up waiting too long and change back. Now, knowing who the other person is, their lives are about to get even more interesting.
1. The Kiss

**Story Title:** _The Kiss_

 **Fandom:** _Miraculous Ladybug_

 **Disclaimer:** _No, I do not own these characters. No amount of wishing will ever change that._

 **Author's Note:** _So recently, I got into Miraculous Ladybug. One of my followers on Tumblr loves the show, so I thought I'd check it out. I literally watched ten or eleven episodes last night. I was up until nearly midnight. I didn't even mind that they were in French. I just loved the episodes so much. Ever since then, I have had this idea for a fanfiction in my head. This is my first ever fanfiction for Miraculous Ladybug, so if you know more than I do (and I'm sure a lot of fans do) and you have an issue with the way the characters act, talk, etc., let me know. It will help me in the long run. Also, I'm going to be doing this story in the perspectives of both Marinette and Adrien. It'll be sort of like the way Grafitti Moon was set up (if you haven't read it, the book alternates between perspectives and explain the same events from both their perspectives - also, you should check it out)._

* * *

 **Chapter One:** _The Kiss_

 **POV:** _Marinette's_

"My Lady, wait up," I heard Cat Noir yell from behind me. I slowed to a walk and let him catch up. When he did, he smiled at me.

"Yes?" I asked him.

"Well, I have something that I want to tell you that I've been meaning to tell you for a while now," he told me. I stopped completely, turning to look at him. "Actually, you know, I think I should tell you in private."

A huge variety of things passed through my mind when he said that. Did he want to stop being my partner? Did he do something wrong? Did he stop liking me? What? What is it?

He quickly took my hand and pulled me into his arms as he quickly extended his staff and boosted us onto the roof. He put the staff back on his waist, and he sat down. I stood there, looking at him. He had a small but nervous smile on his face.

"Won't you sit, princess?" he asked.

"I don't have a lot of time, actually..." I trailed off, knowing I had about two minutes before I would change back. I didn't want him to be around for that.

"I know. I don't, either, but this is important," he put up, getting to his feet. He walked over to me until he was only a few inches from my face. Nice try, kitty.

"Well, if it's so important, then tell me," I said, a little impatient now.

"I think it would be better for me to show you," he whispered. I froze as he leaned forward. I was holding my breath, not sure what to expect. As far as he knew, we hadn't kissed before. But the first time had been...really nice. I just didn't want him to know that so he had even more of a reason to kiss me again.

Everything important slipped my mind when his lips touched mine. My eyes closed slowly, and I kissed him back. Why was I avoiding this before...?

After a little bit, I opened my eyes. Only to find myself face to face with Adrien. I jumped back, a quick scream coming out of my mouth. My face immediately went red as I stammered trying to come up with something to say. But like before, my mind was totally blank.

He smiled a bit before shaking his head. "We just kissed, and you're still embarrassed to see me? Cute," he chuckled, flashing his green eyes at me. I gulped. "Now, I know we weren't supposed to know about each other's identities. We were supposed to keep that a secret. I never expected it to be you, though."

"W-what do you m-mean?" I asked.

"You're just so nervous and shy, Marinette. But when you're Ladybug, you seem so easy-going and confident," he told me. "But it doesn't surprise me that it is you. You're one of the last people in our class who hasn't been Akumatized. And when I look into your eyes when you're Ladybug, I feel like I've seen them every day for a while."

While he was waiting for me to speak, I thought this over. The Adrien Agreste that I was so completely in love with (yes, I can admit to that) was a guy who I talked to on a regular basis whether I knew it or not. I talk casually with him, I save the day with him, I even joke around with him. I've even kissed him before! And I just got to kiss him again!

"Uh...Marinette, you okay?" he asked me.

I laughed nervously. "Yes, of course I'm okay. I-I'm fine. I just need some time to think about this," I laughed, my eyes darting around, looking anywhere but at Adrien. He was smiling at me. Still. I wasn't making a total fool of myself. Yet. But I need to get out of here before I do.

"Well, I'll let you be. See you in class tomorrow, Marinette. Or should I say, Ladybug," he chuckled, running off, leaving me on the rooftop. As soon as he was out of sight, I fell to my knees.

Tikki came out of my bag after eating the cookies I had stashed in there earlier. "You kissed Adrien," she said happily.

"Adrien is Cat Noir," I breathed, still completely in shock. I couldn't believe it. How could Adrien be Cat Noir? No. That's not the question I should be asking. The question I should be asking myself is, how did I not put the pieces together?!

"Which means you have more of a chance with Adrien. You two connect on a deeper level that others will ever connect with you two," Tikki pointed out.

"But how could Adrien be Cat Noir? Cat Noir is so flirty around me, and he's always full of cat puns. Adrien isn't like that. He's confident but not that talkative. He isn't always cracking jokes or flirting with me," I said breathlessly.

"But like he said, you're not the same when you're Ladybug, either. You two have more freedom to be yourselves when you're in disguise," she told me, smiling. I closed my eyes, nodding.

"You're right, Tikki. Let's go home," I said, mentally preparing myself for tomorrow. Seeing Adrien in school will probably be pretty awkward. Oh, no. If he brings up the kiss, Chloe will hate me more than she already does. No, he wouldn't do that. He'll most likely leave the topic alone until we're alone next. Whenever that will be.

"No need to worry, Marinette. Things will work out," she told me, smiling. I smiled back, laughing a little. Yeah, they probably will. I was counting on it.


	2. Awkward Meeting

**A/N:** _So due to a rather large spike in popularity for this story (almost 300 views within five hours, along with 12 favorites and 9 followers – this is completely new to me because my stories are never very popular), I decided I would upload another chapter. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one, too!_

* * *

 **Chapter 2:** _Awkward Meeting_

 **POV:** _Adrien's_

"You kissed Marinette?!" Nino demanded, laughing. I looked at him, not sure why he was laughing.

"Yes... Why is that so funny?" I asked.

"It's not. I'm just shocked. I thought you'd never get the nerve to do it," he admitted. "How did it happen?"

"I just...I don't know," I said, knowing very well what had happened. I just couldn't tell him. Just because I let Ladybug know doesn't mean I'm going to let all of my friends know. "I just caught up with her, told her I needed to tell her something, then I kissed her."

"Dude! That's so awesome!" he laughed, still apparently in shock that I kissed someone.

"Adrien!" I heard Chloe call as we walked into the classroom. Nino gave me a quick and silent "good luck" before turning to talk to Alya. Marinette wasn't here yet. Hopefully, that meant that I could get Chloe away before she walked in.

Chloe ran up to me and threw her arms around me. Not wanting to be mean, I hugged her back quickly before stepping away. "Baby, what's wrong?" she asked me.

"WHAT?!" I heard Alya yell, and we both jumped, turning to look at her. She blushed just a bit. "Nino was just telling me something. Oh, by the way, good job, Adrien."

I flashed a glare at Nino before turning back to Chloe with a smile. "What is she talking about?" Chloe demanded, staring at me with narrowed eyes.

"Not much. I just...got to meet Cat Noir yesterday," I said, lying on the spot. "Not many people get to meet him."

"Well, it's no big deal. I've seen him plenty of times," Chloe sighed happily. "He must have a thing for me."

Uh-huh. No. Not for you, but for another girl in our class. Before I could say anything else, Chloe went to go sit down next to Sabrina. I sighed in relief as I went to my seat. Marinette still hadn't shown up yet.

Just a minute before class started, Marinette flew into the classroom, completely out of breath. She went straight to her seat and collapsed. I could hear Alya talking to her behind me.

"Up all night thinking about Adrien?" Alya whispered. I wasn't looking, but I just knew that Marinette was turning a bright red.

"How'd you know?" Marinette whispered a little quieter.

"How could you not tell me you kissed Adrien?" Alya asked.

"I-I was waiting for the topic to come up," Marinette said. Alya chuckled.

"Girl, good job. It must've taken a lot of courage," Alya said. Nino punched my shoulder playfully, and I smiled.

Class started then, but throughout the period, I just couldn't focus. I wish I sat behind Marinette, so I could look at her. I could imagine her cheeks getting bright red. I could imagine her small smile as I leaned in to kiss her...

Nino kicked me under the table, and I looked at him. "Dude, class is over," he told me. I shook my head, looking around. Almost everyone was gone, except for us and the two girls sitting behind us. I looked back to see Marinette. She looked at me straight in the eye before ducking her head, her cheeks getting red. I smiled.

Alya was quick to drag Nino out of the classroom. I watched them leave before going over to talk to Marinette. "So, you kissed me yesterday, and you're still too shy to look at me?" I asked her. Her eyes flashed to mine as soon as I started speaking. I smiled.

"I-uh..." she mumbled, shaking her head. "I just...can't believe that you're..."

"Cat Noir?" I finished. "I know. I'm still shocked that you're Ladybug."

"I just have a question for you. Would you have come to like me, even if I wasn't Ladybug?" she asked.

"You know, I was starting to fall for your adorable charm, the way you can't look me in the eye or talk to me without blushing, the way you stumble over your words, the way you're always so shy. You really are a cool girl, Marinette. I would have liked you even if you weren't Ladybug, but now I know something about you that no one else knows," I explained to her, sitting down next to her on the bench. She smiled, still not looking at me.

My mind was yelling at me to kiss her again, to feel the same thing I had felt last night before we parted. But my heart told me not to. I didn't want to force her. I could tell that she was still in shock. I would respect that. I would wait until she wanted to kiss me again.

"Thanks, Adrien," she whispered, smiling even more. As I was getting up to leave, she darted forward and hugged me. I grinned, wrapping my arms around her.

"So does that mean my princess likes me, too?" I asked.

"You'll find out, kitty," she whispered before gathering her bag and leaving the classroom. As soon as the door shut, I started laughing to myself. She was coming out like she always did when she was Ladybug. I may not have gotten a kiss, but I got something so much better – her happiness.


	3. Chatting With Alya

**A/N:** _I do not have school today for whatever reason. Off day in the middle of the week? It's weird, and it's just my school. But I'm not complaining. I get more time to tend to fanfiction and homework. Thank you so much to all of the people who have enjoyed this story so far. I was honestly shocked that this story got so popular as fast as it did. I guess that means I'm doing something right with this story. So here's the next chapter!_

* * *

 **Chapter 3:** _Chatting With Alya_

 **POV:** _Marinette's_

"Girl, we need to talk," Alya said as she came up into my room. I sighed, turning away from my homework. I knew this was coming. I've seen it coming ever since earlier in class.

"About?" I asked anyway. Sometimes, I know my friend so well. But other times, she manages to take me completely by shock. Maybe she was here to talk about Ladybug. Maybe she wanted to talk about Nino.

"Your kiss with Adrien!" she said, as if it was obvious. I guess I was right the first time. "How? When? Why? What was it like?"

"One question at a time, please," I laughed, spinning around in my chair. She plopped down on my bed, ready to get all of the answers she needed out of me.

"Okay. When?"

"Last night."

"What time?"

"I don't know. Around... eight, maybe?"

"Were you two on a _date_?"

I immediately went red. Oh, I wish. "No."

"Then how did it happen?"

I sighed, still not understanding that part very well. "He walked up to me and told me he needed to tell me something. I needed to get home, but he stopped me. Then after he told me that he needed to tell me something, he leaned in and kissed me."

She squealed, and I laughed a bit. Alya could be so weird sometimes. I suppose this was only fair. I was so happy when I heard that she and Nino had kissed. She's just doing the same thing to me that I did to her.

"It's not as romantic as I had imagined, but keep going," Alya said eagerly. "Where?"

"Right around the corner from my house," I lied without thinking. When you're part of the hero duo that saves the day on a regular basis and no one is supposed to know your identity, you get really good at lying to people. It was sad but true.

"Aww! How cute! Did your parents see?"

"No. Thank goodness for that."

"What was it like?"

That was the question I was really hoping she'd avoid. The thing is... it felt natural. Right, almost. Even when I thought I was kissing Cat Noir. But I couldn't tell her that I had been kissing Cat Noir who then turned into Adrien. That would give away his identity, and I couldn't do that. I wouldn't do it.

"It was... kind of a long kiss. We weren't making out or anything. It was just a sweet kiss," I said, avoiding details that would give anything away, like how I was Ladybug when it started or how I was kissing Cat Noir or that we were on the roof of a building or how I didn't want it to end... Snap out of it, Marinette.

"Girl, that is awesome!" Alya laughed, grinning at me. I smiled back, feeling my cheeks go red. I nodded. "Well, that's all I came here for. I just needed to know these details. My best friend finally got the nerve to kiss Adrien, the guy she has been obsessing over for the whole year now."

With that, she got off the bed and went back downstairs to leave. I sighed, leaning back in my chair. Tikki came out of hiding and sat down on my desk. "Are you going to kiss him again?" Tikki asked me. My cheeks went completely red.

"Uh...yes. Maybe. I don't know," I sighed. "Probably."

She smiled at me. "I think you should. You two get along so well when you're in disguise. You're already so close," she told me. "And like Adrien said, you two now know something about each other that nobody else does."

"You're right," I said to her. "I just don't know how to bring it up. Do I make the move to do it? Or should he? Should we go on a date or something?"

Tikki brought my phone over to me. "Call him. Chances are he's looking at his phone right now and contemplating if he should call you," she said.

"Fine," I laughed, taking the phone from her. She smiled.

"I believe in you, Marinette," she said as I dialed Adrien's number, which I still had not gotten rid of since I got it. I held the phone to my ear, biting my lip.

When he answered on the first ring with an upbeat "Hello, Marinette", I freaked out and dropped my phone. Tikki was right. He had been looking at his phone. Tikki shook her head. She flipped the phone over so she could talk into it. I watched her with wide eyes.

"Hi, Adrien. This is Tikki, Marinette's kwami," Tikki said, and I stared at her. What was she doing? When Adrien said hello in return, she continued. "Marinette was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with her."

I felt my heart stop when she said that. My mouth opened a bit, and I couldn't move. Tikki looked up at me. "Marinette, you weren't going to do it yourself," she whispered. Yeah, when she said that she believed in me, I'm sure that was gone the second I called him.

"Well, tell Marinette I would love to go on a date with her," I heard Adrien say through the phone. "Can you put her on?"

"Of course," Tikki said, a smug little grin on her face. I sighed, picking up the phone.

"Hi, Adrien," I said nervously. I heard him laugh a bit.

"So you want to go on a date with me?" he asked.

I nodded, then remembered that he couldn't see me. "Uh...yes," I said.

"Well, whenever you want, I can work it out," he said. "We could go on a picnic at the park, or find a nice restaurant to go to. Or we could anywhere you want."

"That would be nice," I whispered.

"Good. Just let me know when you want to," he said. "Have a nice night, Marinette." Then quieter, like he was turning the phone away, "Plagg, shut up. I don't need your help. Go eat your camembert."

"Your kwami trying to help?" I asked, smiling.

"Yes. He thinks he's all-knowing when it comes to dating," he laughed.

"I am!" I heard a voice complain in the background. I laughed, covering my mouth.

"Well, I need to keep doing homework," Adrien sighed.

"Wait, will tomorrow night work?" I asked, and Tikki grinned.

"Of course, my Lady," Adrien murmured. I smiled. "Goodnight, beautiful."

"Goodnight," I said, hanging up the phone. Tikki was still smiling at me.

"You're welcome," she said.

"Thanks. Knowing how fast Alya learns these things, I'll tell her," I said. Tikki nodded. I called Alya.

"I got a date" was all I could make out before she said she was on her way back and hung up. I smiled.


	4. Interruptions

**A/N:** _First things first. If you like the picture, thank my friend, Andi. She drew it for me and told me I should use it as a cover for the story. She's such an amazing artist and an amazing friend. Second, thank you to all of the people who like this story. It makes me so happy to know that people like this story. It's amazing and so heart-warming. I love you all! And here is the chapter of their first date! Also, if you would like to know what's going to happen in the next chapter, check out my profile. I'll post little updates there for anyone who wants to know._

* * *

 **Chapter 4:** _Interruptions_

 **POV:** _Adrien's_

"You're not hungry?" Nathalie asked me.

I shook my head, not letting her know that I was just avoiding eating now. I had a dinner date to go to. "I'm going to my room," I sighed, getting up from the table and walking towards my door. I could feel Plagg moving around on the inside of my shirt. He was so excited that this was working out for me.

As soon as the door shut, I let Plagg out. He flew out gratefully. "Are you bringing camembert?" Plagg asked.

"Yes, because I know you're just going to whine the whole night if I don't feed you," I told him. "I'm bringing food that I bought at Marinette's family's bakery. I'm sure she'll like it. Also, Marinette told me at school today to bring cookies."

"Oh, right. To feed Tikki. Always in love with sweets," Plagg said. "I had finer tastes."

"Uh-huh," I said, rolling my eyes. "Come on. I'm meeting her at the park in half an hour."

I quickly got dressed in the nice clothes I had picked out earlier. Just a dress shirt and nice jeans, but it was nicer than normal. If I could just show up as Cat Noir, that would be awesome because I look so cool. But I wanted to impress her as Adrien, not Cat Noir.

"Yeah. Your half an hour is down to twenty minutes because you blanked out staring at the mirror," Plagg laughed from behind me, and I whirled around. I ran towards my bed and picked up the picnic basket that was hiding underneath it. Plagg flew in, and I sighed. "I guess she's not getting any cheese," I told him.

I snuck out of the window in my bathroom and made it down to the ground. From there, I ran the park. I was so excited. I could hear Plagg making content noises as he ate his cheese. Whatever. I think Marinette would be good with the other things I packed.

Marinette wasn't there when I showed up. I sighed in relief, heading to a patch of open grass and laying out the picnic blanket. I started setting up the food, letting Plagg stay in there. The camembert was gone. No surprise.

Marinette walked up to me, smiling. She was wearing a black dress and flats, her hair up in a bun. Her little purse was strapped across her chest, and she had her fingers wrapped around the strap. I grinned. "You look beautiful," I told her as she sat down.

"Thank you," she said, going red. "You do, too."

I laughed, and her cheeks got even redder. "I-I mean, you look handsome," she corrected.

"So I was at your family's bakery earlier while you were out. I bought some things that I thought you might like. I brought cookies, like you requested," I explained to her, gesturing to all of the food. She smiled.

"I might have to take a few of these cookies for Tikki," she said to me, smiling. "Did you make the sandwiches yourself?"

"Yep. I may be rich, but I know how to cook," I told her. I heard Plagg groan in the picnic basket, and I shoved it lightly. Marinette laughed quietly.

"Chloe probably does not," Marinette said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sure she doesn't," I agreed. "Let's eat."

We spent half an hour just talking and eating and laughing. I don't remember ever having this much fun with anyone before. I really just loved learning about her and watching her light up when she laughs or smiles. Well, it was going well until we heard screams and knew what needed to be done.

Instead of having to come up with a stupid excuse for why we had to leave, we both knew this time. We both knew where the other was going and that we'd be seeing each other in a second anyway. We both hid behind different benches and transformed into Cat Noir and Ladybug. I looked across the stretch of grass and smiled at her. She grinned back. "Let's go, kitty," she said.

"Sure thing, my Lady," I responded.

After another successful battle, we were faced with the crowd who wanted last minute chats with us. We decided to stay and talk for a minute. I saw how big her smile got when Alya approached us with her phone out.

"I noticed that you and Cat Noir were a little bit closer than you have been," Alya started, and Marinette smiled.

Before she could say anything, I interjected, "Yeah. I think we could agree that we're..." I wasn't sure what to say, though.

"Dating," Marinette finished with a smile. I grinned, wishing I could purr like an actual cat.

"Yeah. We're dating," I agreed, leaning over and kissing her cheek. She blushed.

"We were on a date when we got an alert saying that we needed to come help out. But you know, it happens," Marinette added. Then her miraculous beeped, and I looked at her.

"I think it's time for us to go, my Lady," I said to her, and she nodded.

"Wait. I don't mean to be rude, but have you two kissed?" Alya asked.

"Once," I answered. Just to make Alya smile, I kissed Marinette softly and quickly before scooping her up in my arms and running. We would be changing back in a second, and we needed to be gone.

I got around the corner of a building just before we changed back. I set Marinette down on her feet, and she smiled. "My kitty saved the day. And probably just made Alya's entire night," she laughed.

"That's what I was going for," I said, a little smugly. "You know that video is going straight on her blog, right?"

"Definitely. Hey, look, I'm sorry that this night didn't go as well as you were hoping," she sighed.

"It's totally okay. We can always try this again some other time," I told her, smiling. "And we did get to spend a lot of time together."

"You probably have to get going," she said, looking away.

"Yeah. But I'll walk you home if you'd like," I offered.

"Don't worry. I'm a superhero. I can handle a walk home alone," she told me.

I held my hand out to her. "But I insist, my Lady," I said with a smile. She smiled and took my hand.

"Well, if you insist..."

We walked through the streets of Paris, still talking. She was just so excited that Alya looked so happy as we were leaving the scene. I don't blame her. I love seeing my friends happy. And Alya now had even more to put on her blog.

"You know, before I found out it was you, I followed Alya's blog obsessively, waiting to see if she would figure it out," I admitted as we were a block away from her apartment.

"Really?" she asked with a laugh.

"Really. I needed to know," I answered. "Not knowing was going to kill me."

She smiled as we stopped in front of her family's bakery. "So I guess this is goodnight," she sighed.

"Can I have a hug?" I asked. She nodded, wrapping her arms around my waist. I smiled, hugging her close. I kissed her forehead before I pulled away.

"Goodnight, beautiful," I whispered. She blushed, smiling.

"Goodnight, handsome," she said before going insane. I headed home. Plagg was exhausted in my pocket.

"You know, I brought the camembert just in case this happened. But you ate it all beforehand," I told him after he groaned.

"I think your date went well," Plagg said.

"Despite the fact that I smelled like cheese?"

"But you smelling like cheese was the best part!"

"Whatever."

I got back home and snuck back in through my bathroom window. No one had been in my room. Good. I got changed into my pajamas and pulled out a part of my secret camembert stash. Luckily, Plagg did not know where it was. Plagg gladly ate the cheese as I got settled into bed.

"How do you plan on trying another date?" Plagg asked me.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll have her over here," I said.

"Your dad would allow it?" he asked.

"No, probably not. But I could just tell him that she was over to work on a project," I told him.

"Uh-huh. I've seen the way you look at her. Your dad would never believe you," he laughed.

"Oh? And what would you know?" I challenged.

"I'm the dating master," he defended. I rolled my eyes.

"I still don't believe it," I told him, turning on my side and closing my eyes. He plopped down onto my bed and quickly fell asleep in a ball on my feet. I shook my head, smiling. Tomorrow, I'll ask her on another date to make up for being interrupted tonight. Hopefully, she'll say yes. But, that also means that tomorrow, I have to talk to my dad about it...


	5. Ladyblog Update

**A/N:** _I'm writing this chapter today because I need a little bit of a break. In health, we started our short, two-day long unit on suicide. I've struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts in the past, and sitting through just one hour of it ripped me up inside completely. It's been a very long day, so I just wanted to write something that'll take my mind off of it. It's not very long, but that's because I'm not in a totally good mood, and this chapter is mainly dialogue. Maybe I'll post another chapter tonight, too._

 _I have the rest of this story planned out in my head. It's only going to be nine chapters long, but I promise that it's going to get rather intense. I'm so glad that you all are still enjoying it up to this point. It makes me really happy, and I always smile when I see that any of you have favorited/followed or reviewed this story. It immediately brightens my whole day. So thank you!_

* * *

 **Chapter 5:** _Ladyblog Update_

 **POV:** _Marinette's_

"Marinette, you're never going to believe what I got on video," Alya said as soon as I got into class. I was actually on time today, which was new. She was holding her phone to her chest, grinning as big as she physically could. I already had an idea of what she wanted to show me. I knew it was coming.

"What do you want to show me?" I asked her anyway. She bounced towards me and held her phone out. Ladybug and Cat Noir were on the screen, smiling. Cat Noir was standing so close to Ladybug, his arm around her shoulders. I smiled.

The camera got closer to them, and Ladybug grinned at the camera. "I noticed that you and Cat Noir were a little bit closer than you have been," Alya said, out of view of the camera. Ladybug smiled.

"Yeah. I think we could agree that we're..." Cat Noir trailed off, looking at Ladybug.

"Dating," Ladybug finished, and I smiled when I saw Cat Noir grin.

"Yeah. We're dating," Cat Noir agreed, leaning over and kissing Ladybug's cheek.

"Wait, so Ladybug and Cat Noir are dating?" I asked Alya, pausing the video. She smiled, nodding rapidly. "That's so awesome!"

It felt weird talking about Ladybug like she was a completely different girl from me, but it was necessary. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adrien and Nino walk into the classroom. I smiled, turning my head to look at Adrien. He grinned.

"What are we up to, ladies?" Nino asked, walking over to us with Adrien.

"Checking out the Ladyblog," I told them. "Alya got a new video uploaded. Apparently Cat Noir and Ladybug are dating."

"Ooh, interesting," Nino laughed.

"They kissed, too," Alya said excitedly.

"Really?" Adrien interjected. Alya nodded. "Interesting. You know, I don't blame him. Ladybug is pretty beautiful."

I lightly elbowed him, and he grinned. "Calm down, kitty," I whispered in his ear as he was going to his seat. He gave me a happy smile.

"Oh, before I forget, is there any chance that you are free tomorrow night? I would like to make it up to you for last night not going the best. My dad is traveling out of town tomorrow, so I could invite you over for dinner," Adrien said, looking at me with his emerald eyes.

"I would like that," I said as the teacher walked in. He smiled, turning around to the front of the classroom.

"Your date didn't go so well last night?" Alya whispered.

"It went great, until the guy Ladybug and Cat Noir caught came through the park," I whispered back, staring at the back of Adrien's head. "We split up and couldn't find each other again."

"That sucks," Alya sighed. "Well, you just got invited to Adrien's house tomorrow. That should be fun."

"Definitely," I agreed. It definitely would be fun.


	6. First Date, Retried

**A/N:** _So I'm still not doing very well. I'm still thinking about what happened in school yesterday, but I'm trying my best. I have my headphones in, I'm cuddling with my stuffed bunny, and I'm writing. Also, it is a blizzard outside, so that means it's a snow day today. I have plenty of time to catch up on homework and writing my stories._

* * *

 **Chapter 6:** _First Date, Retried_

 **POV:** _Adrien's_

I fidgeted with the edge of my white dress shirt as I sat in my room, waiting for Marinette to show up. Plagg watched me with bored eyes. "You need to calm down," he sighed. "And you should find me some camembert."

"Do you ever think of anything other than cheese?" I asked him, looking up at him.

"I do. I'm just hungry," he said. I shook my head, looking at the time again. It was only 5:30. "And you do realize that you have half an hour before she's supposed to get here, right?"

"I do realize that. I just don't know what to do until then," I told him.

"Feed me," he offered. I rolled my eyes at him, ignoring him otherwise.

"Fine. Let's go get you some camembert," I said, getting up off of my bed and walking out of my room. Plagg flew after me, telling me how I didn't understand the delicacy of camembert or something like that. I wasn't really listening.

I walked into the huge kitchen and headed straight for the fridge. Nathalie had been confused as to why I was constantly asking for camembert, so now we had a huge collection of camembert in the fridge. I had to hold Plagg back to keep from flying at it and just eating it all.

As I set down the plate of camembert on the counter for Plagg, I heard someone buzz in at the front door. I smiled, heading to Nathalie's office to unlock the gate for whoever it was.

I looked at the little screen that showed who was at the door. Marinette was standing there, dressed in yet another stunning black dress. She was talking to Alya, who looked like she was ready to leave at any moment. Maybe she was just providing pep-talk and support for Marinette, who looked incredibly nervous.

I pressed the button on the desktop that opened the gate. As soon as the gate opened, Alya took off. Marinette smiled, the nervousness still clear on her face. Aw, come on, Marinette. I won't scratch.

I ran out and opened the door for her. She smiled, her fist raised to knock on the door. A little laugh escaped from her lips. "Come in, my Lady," I said to her, holding the door open. She walked in, smiling. "I have prepared a dinner by hand since I seemed to impress you with my amazing cooking skills the other night." She laughed, grinning.

"So where is your dad?" she wondered.

"He is out of town working on stuff. Nathalie and my body guard went with him, figuring he needed him more than I did," I explained, shrugging. She nodded. "But that means we have the house to ourselves for the evening."

I led her out to the massive dining room and pulled out the chair closest to my own spot. She smiled and sat down, letting me push her chair in.

"So...what would you like to talk about?" I asked her after a few minutes of eating in silence. I still wasn't sure what we were supposed to talk about during a date. It had felt so natural to start the conversation the last time. Maybe it was because we were at the park in a non-formal location.

"Whatever you would like," she said, smiling at me.

"Hmm... Maybe the fact that I can hear Plagg eating in the kitchen," I suggested, trying to lighten the mood. Then she stopped moving to listen. A huge grin broke out on her face, and I couldn't help but smile in return.

"He's such a loud eater," she laughed quietly.

"Oh, I know. And he's always demanding that I feed him camembert. The issue with that is that it smells awful. I have to carry it with me just in case something happens and I need to refuel him. So I always smell like stinky cheese," I laughed.

"Now I'm definitely lucky that Tikki only ever wants sweet things, so I can just carry cookies in my purse with me," Marinette gloated, and I huffed a bit in her direction. She smiled. "But now I understand why you always smell like cheese."

"It's not a pleasant smell to other people, is it?" I asked, and she shook her head slightly.

"I've learned to accept it, though. I mean, before I understood why, I was just happy that I could be around you at all, so I didn't mind it," she admitted.

"That reminds me. How long have you liked me?" I asked her.

"To be honest, ever since I first met you," she said. "The night I first found out that you were Cat Noir, I was shocked. Because you like Ladybug so much, and it was just kind of a pleasant surprise that you liked me all along, whether you knew it or not."

I laughed a bit, nodding my head. "And I fell in love with Ladybug the second I met her," I said honestly.

"I guess our relationship has just been pretty screwed up from the start," she laughed.

"I definitely agree with that," I agreed.

"I'm starting to see now that hiding our true identities from each other made everything more complicated than it needed to be," she sighed.

"At least, it's working out for us now," I pointed out, and she smiled.

Plagg flew into the dining room from the kitchen. He looked annoyed. "There's no more camembert," he told me seriously. I cracked a smile at Marinette before looking back at Plagg.

"There is more. You just can't have any," I said. "I need that for when I need to transform. If I can't give you food to refuel you, what are we supposed to do?"

He huffed at me. Marinette smiled, looking down at her purse. "Is it safe for me to come out?" I heard a little voice say. Marinette responded with a quick yes. A little thing that looked a lot like Plagg flew out of Marinette's purse. This must be Marinette's kwami, Tikki. She looked like a little ladybug, red with a few black spots. She was truly adorable.

"Tikki!" Plagg said excitedly.

"Plagg!" Tikki responded, just as excited. Marinette and I shared a happy glance.

"Well, it's a great thing that they get along well," I said, and she nodded.

"Adrien," Tikki said to me. I looked at her. "Hello. It is nice to actually meet you. I've seen you plenty of times before, but I've never gotten a chance to introduce myself. I am Tikki."

"Hello, Tikki," I said. "I remember talking to you on the phone a little while ago."

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that," she said.

I looked over at Plagg. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" I asked him.

"To who?" he asked, and I flahsed a glare at him.

"To my girlfriend. Tikki introduced herself to me, and now it's time for you to introduce yourself to her. You're not setting a very good impression. The first thing you said when you came out here was that there wasn't any camembert left," I said.

He sighed deeply. "Hello, Marinette. I'm Plagg, the black cat kwami. If you ever want to know any deep secrets about Adrien, I'm the guy you can come to," he said, smiling. Marinette smiled a bit wickedly.

"I might have to take you up on that offer," she said to Plagg.

"I think it's time for you to go, Plagg," I said nervously, not sure what he was planning on telling her.

"I just introduced myself to your wonderful girlfriend, and you already want me to leave?" Plagg asked me, appearing deeply offended. Before I could say anything, he turned back to Marinette and said, "He has a Ladybug poster that he stares at before he goes to bed."

I felt my cheeks go red as Marinette smiled in my direction. "Don't worry. Marinette has pictures of Adrien all over her room," Tikki spoke up. It was Marinette's turn to go red.

"I think it's time for both of you to leave," Marinette and I agreed. The two kwamis laughed with each other as they flew out into the kitchen. Plagg was probably going to get into the fridge, but I didn't really care at this point.

"Pictures of me all over your room, huh?" I asked Marinette. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes. I kind of adore you. No, not kind of. I completely adore you," she admitted under her breath. I smiled. "And you have a Ladybug poster?"

"Yeah. I keep it under my bed, but as I'm falling asleep, I'll pull it out and look at it," I told her. She smiled.

"I'm so glad that this is finally working out," she murmured, taking my hand. I smiled brightly.

"Me, too," I whispered before leaning over and kissing her forehead. "Me, too, Marinette."


	7. The Heartbreaker

**A/N:** _So...I have seven books to finish reading by April 25th. I will most likely not have time to update for a little while, so I am aiming to upload all three chapters tonight to avoid having people wait on me for, like a month. Today was pretty good, and I'm in a writing mood. I've been working all day on the story I want to eventually get published for real, and that's exciting. It also helps that it's been a pretty good Tuesday. I listened to a presentation on depression in health, which really helped me feel a lot better, and then I got ice cream during math. So freaking awesome! But anyway, if I do not get all of the chapters uploaded today, they will be uploaded by the end of the week. That is a promise._

* * *

 **Chapter 7:** _The Heartbreaker_

 **POV:** _3rd_

"So how did your date go the other day?" Nino asked Adrien, a wicked grin on his face. Adrien smiled back.

"It was amazing. You have no idea how much I was smiling after she left," Adrien told him.

"What did you two do?" Nino questioned further.

"Well, I invited her over-"

"What did your dad do?!"

"Nino, I told you a few days ago that my dad is out of town. I had the house to myself."

"Oh, right. Continue."

"Well, I made her dinner and invited her over. We sat and talked for hours." There was a slight blush to Adrien's cheeks as he said this. Thinking back to that night, he couldn't help but smile.

Sabrina walked over to where Chloe was sitting. "Well?" Chloe demanded.

"They're talking about a date that Adrien went on Saturday night," Sabrina answered.

"A date?" Chloe hissed, her eyes narrowing. She turned to look at Adrien. "With who?"

"I'm not sure," Sabrina said.

"Then go find out!" Chloe snapped, still looking at Adrien. _Who could he possibly be dating? There is no girl prettier than me,_ Chloe thought to herself.

Alya walked into the classroom, spotted the two guys talking to each other, and walked over. "Adrien, how was your date?" she asked excitedly.

"It was amazing," Adrien answered. "Where's Marinette?"

"I don't know. She must be running late again," Alya said.

It didn't surprise Adrien. They had been up late fighting an akumatized villain yesterday, and Marinette must still be tired. He just couldn't tell Nino and Alya that. "Yeah, she's pretty tired," Adrien said. "Must've been up late doing homework."

"It's Marinette," Sabrina said to Chloe when she walked back over. Chloe's eyes snapped open, anger filling her.

"What could he possibly see in that _nerd_?" Chloe said through clenched teeth.

"What are you going to do?" Sabrina asked, watching Chloe carefully.

"Oh, you'll find out," Chloe said, getting to her feet. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked over to Adrien. "Oh, Adrien."

"Hey, Chloe," Adrien said politely.

"So what did you do over the weekend?" Chloe asked, staring at Adrien's lips.

"Oh, I went on an amaz-" Adrien started but was interrupted when Chloe shot forward and kissed him. He froze up, his heart stopping. All Alya and Nino could do was stare in complete shock.

"Are you sure the bell hasn't rung yet, Tikki?" Marinette asked the little red and black kwami as she walked towards class.

"I'm pretty sure," Tikki answered from Marinette's pink handbag.

"So helpful," Marinette sighed, smiling. Her smile immediately fell when she looked in the windows into her classroom. Tears welled up in her eyes when she saw that Adrien was busy kissing Chloe.

"Hey, I didn't hear a door open. What's going on?" Tikki asked softly.

She poked her head out curiously. Tears streaked Marinette's cheeks, and her hands clenched into weak fists. "Marinette, what's going on?" Tikki asked again.

"Chloe and Adrien are kissing," Marinette breathed. Tikki stared up at Marinette.

"Go and talk to him. This isn't like Adrien," Tikki said to her.

"You're right. But it is like Chloe," Marinette stated, gritting her teeth. "Get back in my bag, Tikki. I'm going in."

Tikki flew back into Marinette's purse as Marinette stormed into the classroom. Chloe immediately whipped away from Adrien. Adrien froze, having a very good feeling on who just walked in.

"Look who's actually on time to class today," Chloe sneered before going to her seat.

"Look who's being a total jerk like always," Marinette shot back, tears still streaking her cheeks. Chloe stopped before turning to look at Marinette.

"What did I do?" Chloe asked innocently.

Marinette growled under her breath. "You kissed me, that's what you did!" Adrien said, standing up for Marinette. "You knew Marinette and I were dating, and you kissed me anyway."

"I don't even see what you could possibly see in her," Chloe said, ending the conversation by striking up a new one with Sabrina. As Marinette took a step forward, Adrien put a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Don't. I know you can easily take her, but I don't want you to get in trouble, my Lady," Adrien whispered in her ear as he hugged her. Marinette sighed, burying her face in his chest. He kissed the top of her head softly before pulling away. He gave her a big smile when she looked up at him. She smiled back, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I just can't believe she kissed you," Marinette muttered, her smile falling. The bell rang, and Marinette sighed, heading to her seat. She had her hands clenched tightly into fists, her eyes shut. She could feel the anger burning her up from the inside, and she tried her hardest to pay attention to the teacher. She just couldn't get the image out of her head - Chloe kissing Adrien, the one thing she wished would never happen. Chloe crossed a serious line with her this time.

Halfway through the class, she felt Tikki poke her leg. She jumped a bit, looking down at Tikki. "Stop," Tikki whispered. "Feeling jealousy and anger isn't a good idea, especially not like this."

"I'm fine," Marinette whispered back stiffly.

"I know you better," Tikki shot back. Marinette's eyes flashed over to Alya, who was too busy paying attention to the teacher to notice what was going on with Marinette.

"Alright. I'm trying," Marinette said under her breath, lightly shoving Tikki back into her purse. Marinette took a deep breath, trying to stop the anger. But the image came back again and again, and it almost brought her to tears. Her hands tightened into fists again. Calming down wasn't an option right now. Chloe needed to pay.


	8. Cat Noir to the Rescue

**A/N:** _So I realized (due to the review by – thank you so much again for reviewing and pointing this out) that Marinette reacted the wrong way in the previous chapter. I thought about it for a little while, and I thought of a way I can change it. So, if something in this chapter doesn't make much sense, go back and read the previous chapter. I'm changing it a little bit, so go back and read it so things make sense!_

* * *

 **Chapter 8:** _Cat Noir to the Rescue_

 **POV:** _3rd_

Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse when she got a very bad feeling that something was going to happen. Adrien needed to know. She whipped into Adrien's bag, hiding from the other students. As she was waiting for the right time to tap Adrien, she saw the little black and purple akuma fly into the classroom. She gulped.

"Adrien," she whispered, reaching over to tap Adrien. He jumped, looking down. He was about to tell Plagg to leave him alone when he saw Tikki.

"Tikki?" he breathed.

"You need to get everyone out of here. An akuma is coming," Tikki said.

"Did you tell Marinette?" Adrien asked.

"Adrien, who are you talking to?" the teacher asked, glaring over at him.

"Um... myself. I talk to myself to help myself remember things better," he lied on the spot, keeping a straight face as best as he could. The teacher rolled her eyes, going back to the board.

"Are you alright?" Nino leaned over and whispered.

"Yes, but someone in this classroom is not," Adrien breathed.

"Adrien, the akuma is coming for Marinette. I tried talking to her to calm her down, but she wouldn't listen to me. I can't stop her," Tikki whispered, hiding behind Adrien. "You need to get everyone out of here. I don't know how this is going to work, but it most likely won't be pretty."

Adrien nodded, looking back at Marinette. She had her head down, her eyes clenched shut. He watched with fear as he saw the akuma seep into her purse. _Here we go,_ Adrien thought to himself, his heart was not beating as he watched Marinette change.

Her purplish hair turned jet black, coming into one long ponytail. Red was painted across her face in the shape of fingers. Her outfit transformed into a short black dress, red leggings underneath. Her hands were covered in black gloves, completely stained red on the palms. Her shoes turned into black heels. She had a broken heart on her chest. Her purse turned black and red.

"Of course," Marinette said out loud, earning her the attention of the class.

 _Knowing most people who have been akumatized, she's going to go straight for Chloe,_ Adrien thought, scooping Tikki up and putting her in his shirt. _But right now, I need to change._

Marinette got to her feet, opening her eyes to reveal that they were all black. "Marinette," the teacher said as she turned around and then stopped. "Marinette?"

"I'm not Marinette anymore," Marinette said, laughing. "I'm the Heartbreaker. If I can't have love, neither can anyone else."

She reached into her purse, grabbed something black and then threw it at Ivan who was sitting with Mylene. He immediately pushed her away, getting up and moving. Adrien gulped when he saw that Mylene looked like she was on the verge of tears.

While the chaos was going on, Adrien slipped out of the room. He pulled Plagg out of his shirt. "Plagg, we've got a serious problem," he said.

"No kidding. What are we supposed to do with Ladybug turning akumatized?" Plagg asked.

"We need to get her earrings off of her," Tikki stated, coming out, as well. "And we need to give them to someone temporarily. Since she's Ladybug, she's most likely going to be stronger and more skilled than any of the others that you guys have gone up against."

"How are we supposed to get her earrings off of her?" Adrien asked.

"Any way that you can. They're useless to her right now anyway," Tikki pointed out.

"Wait, why can't I just wear her earrings or something? Use both yours and Plagg's power?" Adrien asked.

"First of all, you'd look stupid in earrings," Plagg said, and Adrien shot him a glare. "And second of all, combining our powers is really dangerous. It's not something you should do. Ever. It's possible, but it's incredibly dangerous."

"Alright. Plagg, claws out!" Adrien shouted. In a few seconds, he was Cat Noir and running back into the classroom.

The Heartbreaker was already gone, along with Chloe. Everyone else was hiding in the corner. Tikki floated behind Cat Noir before diving for Adrien's bag.

Alya and Nino jumped up and ran at Cat Noir. "The Heartbreaker took Chloe," Alya said.

"And Adrien is missing," Nino added.

"Do you two have any idea on who it is who got akumatized?" Cat Noir asked, keeping up his disguise.

"It was Marinette. Chloe was kissing her boyfriend this morning, and I guess she got really mad over it," Alya said. "Although I don't blame her."

"Ooh, the cute girl who Ladybug has me watch over occasionally," Cat Noir said, smiling briefly. "Any idea where they're going?"

"No clue," Alya said while smiling to herself. _Cat Noir thinks Marinette is cute. That's awesome!_ Alya thought.

"Well, there's Chloe's house. Maybe the Eiffel Tower," Cat Noir said, looking at the two for any possible answers they could throw out there.

"Maybe you should check Chloe's house first. Or maybe even Marinette's," Nino said.

"Is Ladybug going to be joining you?" Alya asked.

"Sadly, not this time. She's kind of...tied up right now," Cat Noir said, not sure what to say. Then, without thinking, he added, "I'll tell you two later."

 _Do I really want to tell them why Ladybug won't be helping me? Wait, Tikki said something about me giving Marinette's earrings to someone temporarily. No one would love the honor of being Ladybug more than Alya (other than Ladybug herself),_ Cat Noir thought. _But what about Nino? He could help, too._

Cat Noir headed towards Marinette's house, Tikki flying quickly after him. "You should give her earrings to Alya," she told him.

"I was thinking about that, actually," he admitted, his step not faltering. "What about Nino?"

"Well, since Marinette is really powerful right now, maybe it would help to stop by Master Fu and get Wayzz to help us. You could give the turtle bracelet to Nino and have him help," Tikki said.

"Wait, you know another Miraculous holder?" Cat Noir asked.

"Of course. Hawkmoth is also carrying a Miraculous," Tikki explained. "But we need to keep going. We'll discuss this once you get Marinette's earrings."

Cat Noir jumped down onto the terrace above Marinette's room. He looked down into it, not seeing anyone. He sighed. All the way back to Chloe's house.

When he got there, he immediately heard Chloe's screaming. He picked up the pace, leaping in through a window. He rolled once he hit the floor and immediately got back up.

"Well, well, well, Cat Noir," the Heartbreaker said. "Come to save the day, as usual. But you won't stop me."

"Oh, yeah?" Cat Noir asked. "We'll see about that. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Along with a few cat puns. I know you hate those."

"They don't bother me," she said, leaning over and smiling at Chloe. "She'll suffer more than I will. She will finally suffer like I have."

"Aww, come on. You've _cat_ to be _kitten_ me," Cat Noir said, grinning. The Heartbreaker turned to glare violently at him.

"You better stop right now," she said. "Where's Ladybug?"

 _It's amazing that she's still managing to keep up the secret even though Hawkmoth wants her Miraculous,_ Cat Noir thought.

"My _purr_ -incess?" Cat Noir asked, watching her cringe. "She can't come until later. Sorry to let you down. But you need to let Chloe go right now."

"Why? So she can continue to make people suffer? She is the reason most of my class is miserable, why they were akumatized. She kissed my boyfriend this morning just because she doesn't like me. She's a selfish _brat_ that can't keep hurting others," she hissed, narrowing her black eyes at him. He could see her earrings. Those were unchanged.

He lunged at her, dodging when she tried to throw something at him. He rolled out of the way, jumping back onto his feet again. He ran at her again, still remaining incredibly careful. With one graceful leap, he snagged her earrings off and got out of there. He knew that Chloe wouldn't truly be harmed until he showed up again. It's just bait to get him there.

Tikki met up with Cat Noir again. "Did you get them?" she asked him.

"Of course I got them," he said, holding them in his palm out to her. She nodded. "I threw her off with cat puns."

"Of course you did," she sighed.

"So who is Master Fu?" he asked.

"He's the one who protects all of us kwamis. Some of us have gone missing, like Nooroo, the butterfly kwami that Hawkmoth has. He'll explain more when we get there. Let's go," Tikki explained.


	9. The Turtle

**A/N:** _This is the last chapter of the story. I will try to wrap everything up in this chapter. Thank you to all of you who took the time to read this story and to all of you who actually enjoyed it. I really appreciate it! I had so much fun working on it, and I will definitely aim to write more Miraculous Ladybug fanfictions in the future!_

* * *

 **Chapter 9:** _The Turtle_

 **POV:** _3rd_

Cat Noir headed towards Nino's house, nervously gripping the turtle bracelet and ladybug earrings in his hand. Tikki and Wayzz floated behind him.

He had talked to Master Fu for half an hour, just discussing what could be done. Eventually, Master Fu gave him the turtle bracelet he kept on his wrist and told him to give it to someone he trusted. Then he told him that the earrings could be given to Alya.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cat Noir asked Tikki.

"It's our only option," Wayzz answered first. "And hey, it's been a while since I've transformed. It should be fun."

"We need to save Marinette and Chloe," Tikki added. "And Alya and Nino can be trusted. They're your absolute best friends."

"Alright," Cat Noir sighed. He stopped when he jumped down onto Nino's roof. He took a deep breath before flipping down and into the open window.

Nino and Alya jumped up when he came in unannounced. He grinned a bit when he realized that they had been kissing. "Hey, guys. I need to ask for a favor," Cat Noir said to them. "I have a feeling you two will be happy to do it."

"It depends on what it is," Nino said.

"Alya, how would you like to be Ladybug temporarily?" Cat Noir asked, watching her eyes widen in surprise.

"Where's the real Ladybug?" Alya asked softly.

"Okay. Listen. Don't get mad. There's a very good reason why she kept the secret," Cat Noir started. "Ladybug was akumatized." He watched as the pieces clicked together in Alya's mind.

"Marinette?" Nino demanded. "Marinette is Ladybug?"

"Yes. I managed to get her earrings off of her earlier, and I have them for you, Alya. Do you want to help me?" Cat Noir asked. Alya nodded.

"Let's save my best friend," Alya said. Cat Noir gave the earrings over.

"And I didn't forget you, Nino," Cat Noir added. "You get to be a turtle. You can come up with your own name."

Cat Noir handed over the turtle bracelet, which he put on quickly as Alya got the earrings in. "Alright. How do we transform?" Alya asked.

"Wait, I have a much more important question for you," Nino stepped in. "Who are you?"

Cat Noir nodded. He knew that one of them was bound to ask after he told them that Marinette was Ladybug. "I'm Adrien," Cat Noir said. Their eyes widened even bigger.

"Prove it," Alya said.

"Plagg, claws in," Cat Noir said, and Plagg left his ring. Cat Noir transformed back into Adrien. He smiled when he saw the looks of pure shock and amazement on Alya and Nino's faces.

"That's so cool! My best friend is a superhero!" Nino laughed.

"So is mine!" Alya squealed. "No wonder Ladybug notices me so much!"

"Wait, that means that Marinette put us together in that cage at the zoo," Nino realized. Alya smiled.

"We have to thank her later," Alya said. "But seriously. Adrien, how do we transform?"

"I have no idea how Marinette transforms into Ladybug. I feel like it's the same way with me, but she must have her own catchphrase," Adrien admitted. "Tikki?"

Tikki flew out from behind him, and Alya laughed, her eyes lighting up. "She can just say 'Tikki, transform me'," Tikki said.

"Oh, you're so cute!" Alya said, grinning.

"Not as cute as me," Plagg defended, coming out.

"Are you two completely forgetting me?" Wayzz asked.

"What about me? What do I say?" Nino asked Adrien.

"Same thing, except you say his name. His name is Wayzz," Adrien answered as Wayzz flew over to Nino.

"You're a cute little guy," Nino chuckled.

"So you just follow Marinette around all the time?" Alya asked Tikki. Tikki nodded. "That's so awesome. You give her her powers?" Tikki nodded again. "Sweet!"

"Wayzz, transform me!" Nino shouted, making Alya and Adrien jump a bit. After a second, he was transformed into a turtle. He was in a suit like Cat Noir's, except it was green. He had a green mask, his glasses gone. He had a shell on his back. "Awesome!" He looked down at himself. "I'm going to be... Turtle Man!"

"What about Shell Head?" Alya whispered under her breath, laughing to herself. Nino didn't hear her. Speaking up a little louder, she said, "Tikki, transform me!" She was transformed into Ladybug. Her hair was pulled up into the pigtails like Ladybug's, and she looked almost exactly like her, except for the skin color. Her glasses were gone, too.

"Can you guys see alright?" Adrien asked them.

"Yeah. I see great," Nino said, and Alya agreed.

"It's kind of hard to put a mask over glasses, and they'd look stupid if they had glasses over their masks," Plagg sighed. "Their powers include heightened vision, so they can see just fine without them. They'll come back when they change back."

"That makes sense. Plagg, claws out!" Adrien said. Once he was turned into Cat Noir, he looked at the two. "Ready to go save Marinette?"

"Yeah!" the two agreed.

"What's the plan?" Alya asked, pulling out her yo-yo and playing with it.

"So Nino, you're going to protect Chloe," Cat Noir said. Nino nodded. "Alya, you know Marinette better than just about everyone else. You and I are going to trap her and get her purse away from her. That seems to be where the akuma is."

"So I know Ladybug captures akumas, but how do I do that?" Alya asked.

"I think Tikki will help you. While you're Ladybug, Tikki is your guide," Cat Noir told her. "You probably just need to step on it once you get it off of her or rip the strap. The akuma will come out after that. Once we get there, I'll buy you time to pull out your lucky charm. Then we have five minutes before you change back. With all of us working together, it shouldn't take that long."

"Wait, why five minutes?" Alya asked.

"Because once you use the lucky charm, you're starting to really drain Tikki's power. She can only keep the power up for so long," Cat Noir explained. "The same for me. When I use my cataclysm, I only have five minutes because I'm draining Plagg's power."

"Do I have a special power?" Nino asked.

"Not that I know of. I didn't talk to the holder long enough to find out that information. And you didn't really give Wayzz a chance to explain," Cat Noir told him. "But let's go."

Cat Noir carried Nino to Chloe's house, and Alya followed along, laughing as she used her yo-yo to swing from building to building. She was having the time of her life. The three flew through the window of Chloe's room. Chloe and the Heartbreaker looked up.

"About time you returned," the Heartbreaker said, moving away from Chloe. She completely ignored Nino as he ran over to Chloe and untied her. "And you brought a friend."

"Two friends, actually," Alya corrected. "Marinette, let us help you."

"I'm not Marinette," Heartbreaker growled. "I knew you couldn't be trusted, Cat."

"I am trustworthy. You know that," Cat Noir said. "I may be a flirt as Cat Noir, but I really do love you." He gave Alya the gesture to use her lucky charm.

"Lucky charm!" Alya said. A chain fell into her hands. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"I think I have a pretty good idea," Cat Noir said without looking away from Heartbreaker. Without any time to think, Heartbreaker lunged at him, sticking her hand into her purse. He leaped out of the way as she threw something black at him. It dissolved as it hit the wall.

"Stand still, Cat," she hissed.

"Hey, I'm the one doing the hissing, alright?" Cat Noir said, smiling at her. "It's a _cat_ astrophe when someone steals my job."

"Stop it," she snapped, her black eyes narrowed at him. "Your cat puns have never been funny."

"That's un- _fur_ -tunate, absolutely heartbreaking," Cat Noir sighed. "I thought my puns were _hiss_ -terical."

As he was distracting Heartbreaker with cat puns, Alya snuck up behind her, the chain in her hands. Then, without a second thought, she ran at Heartbreaker and jumped around her, wrapping her up in the chain. Heartbreaker screamed at the two as Alya gave the end of the chain to Cat Noir. Nino and Chloe watched silently.

With a quick flick, Cat Noir used his staff to remove the purse from Heartbreaker. "Do your thing, Ladybug," he said, staring straight at Heartbreaker. She struggled against the chains, whipping around. "I'm sorry this happened, Marinette. It'll all be over in a second." He walked towards her as Alya ripped up the purse and released the akuma.

Cat Noir dropped to his knees in front of Heartbreaker. She stopped struggling for a second to look at him. "I'm sorry, Marinette," he breathed before leaning over and kissing her lips gently. By the time he pulled back, it was Marinette who was all chained up, the akuma already captured.

Alya and Cat Noir quickly untied her, and Alya got rid of the chains while Cat Noir helped Marinette to her feet. She looked like she was in a lot of pain, which kind of alarmed him.

"Come on, Turtle Man and Ladybug. We have to change back," Cat Noir said.

"What about me?" Chloe demanded.

"You're at home. You're fine now," Cat Noir said simply. Chloe looked like she was about to complain, so he stopped her. "You seriously hurt Marinette this morning. I heard about what happened. That wasn't alright. You have no reason to complain right now."

Before she could say anything else, the four left the room. Alya carried Marinette while Cat Noir carried Nino again. They got up to the roof, and Alya and Adrien had only a few seconds to put down Marinette and Nino before changing back.

"Adrien," Marinette said in fear, looking at Alya.

"Don't worry. She knows. So does Nino," Adrien assured her. "I confided in them because I needed help. I'm just lucky you didn't truly use your power against us. Tikki told me you'd probably be twice as strong as any of the villains we've gone up against so far."

"Nino?" Marinette asked, looking at Turtle Man. He smiled.

"How do I change back?" Nino asked Adrien.

"'Wayzz, detransform me'," Adrien told him, guessing.

"Wayzz, detransform me," Nino said, and in a few seconds, he was transformed back into Nino.

"What happened?" Marinette asked.

"You were akumatized because you were angry over what happened this morning," Adrien sighed. "Look, I know that you saw what happened. But please believe me when I say that I didn't want it. It was all Chloe."

"That makes sense. And it also makes sense that I went straight for Chloe," Marinette sighed. Adrien walked over and hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her head. "Alya, you're going to put this on the Ladyblog, aren't you?"

"Nope. I'm sworn to secrecy. Just like you and Adrien. Nino and I will keep it a secret," Alya explained.

"What about the Ladyblog, then?" Marinette asked, pulling away from Adrien.

"I'll still post updates on it, but it won't be centered around trying to unmask you. It'll just be posting videos that I capture, any interviews I get from you again, stuff like that," Alya said, smiling. "I'm just so glad that you're okay, and I'm so excited to know that my best friend is a superhero."

"Oh, before I forget, thank you!" Nino said excitedly. Alya and Adrien smirked as Marinette gave him a confused look. "We figured out that you were the one who locked Alya and me in that cage at the zoo. You were basically the reason Alya and I are dating now. And I wanted to thank you."

"Thank you," Alya said.

"You're welcome, you guys," Marinette said. "So are you taking over now as Ladybug?"

"Of course not! That's your job, Marinette. You and Adrien are partners. I was just a temporary while we saved you. No one could truly replace you," Alya assured her.

"I couldn't bear to work without you, my Lady," Adrien admitted. Marinette smiled.

"What about you, Nino?" Marinette wondered.

"I have to give the bracelet back. Adrien told me that I was a temporary, too. Which is kind of a shame. I kind of liked being a turtle. Wayzz, where'd you go, buddy?" Nino said.

"I'm here," Wayzz said, sitting in his hoody.

"Do you need anything?" Nino asked.

"Just some lettuce," Wayzz told him.

"I can get that," Nino said.

"Yeah. You may not have used any special power, but I'm sure it still drained him a bit," Adrien said. "Plagg, I've got camembert for you."

"Thank you," Plagg said graciously as Adrien pulled out a piece of the smelly camembert. He ate it quickly, not even taking the time to savor it.

"Wait, he eats cheese?" Nino asked.

"Yeah. I have no idea why. It's what refuels him," Adrien answered.

"What does little Tikki eat?" Alya asked.

"Cookies," Marinette answered for him. Alya smiled. "I have a few, if you'd like to give them to her." Alya nodded and Marinette pulled a chocolate chip cookie out of her purse. She handed it to Alya who then gave it to Tikki who sat in her palms. She ate slowly and quietly.

"So how do we get down from here?" Alya asked.

"Just wait until Plagg and Tikki finish eating and refuel," Adrien said. "Marinette, you feel like turning into Ladybug for a little bit so we can get them home and return Wayzz to Master Fu?"

"Absolutely. It's nice to be back," Marinette said, smiling at him. He reached over and took her hand, holding it tight as they watched Tikki eat and Nino talk to Wayzz. They looked at each other for a second before smiling.

It was sure to be even more interesting for them now that Alya and Nino knew, too. But neither of them minded. The pressure of keeping the secret from them was off now, and that's the way they liked it. Seeing their friends so happy was worth it.


End file.
